The Eve Of What, Exactly?
by PLLCanada
Summary: New Year's Eve one-shot featuring Faberry. They're both single as the countdown begins, but once that ball drops neither's too sure what the next year will bring.


**The Eve Of What, Exactly?**

This party was supposed to be fun, a night of games, music and possibly some drinks, all leading up to the final event; The Drop. She hadn't thought this far ahead. So maybe coming to this wasn't such a good idea, considering that everywhere she looked she saw couples. Tina and Mike, Puck and some Cheerio, Brittany and Santana, heck, even Sam and Mercedes had rekindled their previous relationship, which everyone already knew about, but didn't bother to tell them. The rest were either away on family trips or had thought far enough ahead to realize that it'd be kind of embarrassing to stand there and watch everyone make out when the clock strikes twelve. Lucky them.

So here she was at 11:51pm, Quinn Fabray, standing with her back against a wall, observing her peers around her, all while nursing a bottle of water - what a badass. If she wanted to she could easily leave, walk the three-or-so minutes from Santana's house to hers and make it there in time to grab a Ben and Jerry's from her freezer, curl up on the couch and watch that oversized ball drop in New York on her TV in Lima, Ohio.

Which was less pathetic?

_Too late now_, she thought as she put the cap back on her water. "Hey, Rachel." Quinn said over the music to the solemn looking brunette, who'd just arrived. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"I didn't know I was either." Rachel replied sheepishly as Quinn gave her a confused look. "My dads left the house about an hour ago to go to a New Years party with Daddy's colleagues at the hospital, so I've been contemplating ever since." The brunette stated as she shrugged off her coat and placed it over the back of an empty chair.

"What about Finn? This is our last New Year all together, why isn't he with you?" The taller girl asked as she picked up Rachel's coat and placed it on the dining room table, just in case someone happened to spill something on it, most likely Puck who was stumbling around in his inebriated state.

Rachel clenched her jaw slightly before answering either question. "He's with his family in Columbus for some politics thing." The diva crossed her arms. "It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure, you seem a little on edge." Quinn inquired, rubbing her hand gently down Rachel's bicep before receiving a glare and backing off slightly. "Just relax a bit, okay?" The blonde tried to ease the other girl's tension with a smile, to no avail.

"I will not relax." The smaller girl spat back before storming into the vacant kitchen, with Quinn legging behind.

"What are you-" Quinn started to question what Rachel was doing rummaging through Santana's fridge before being cut off by the pint-sized diva.

"You don't even know what's wrong, so before you say 'calm down, it's okay'," Rachel started, imitating Quinn's voice for the last few words. "It's not." The brunette said firmly as she pulled a glass bottle from the fridge, apparently satisfied with her search results.

"Alright." Quinn drawled out as she observed the girl in front of her. "So, what's wrong?" She asked, unsure of what to do in this situation.

"If you must know," The brunette began as she attempted to twist the metal cap off of the bottle. "Finn and I are no longer together, as he decided that he was not prepared to leave Lima after high school. So I told him it was over a two days ago and now I'm here, on New Year's Eve, single and drinking a beer." The diva ended her fairly short rant with an exasperated breath and a sip of her drink.

"Umm…" Quinn said as she racked her brain for words to say in an effort to comfort the brunette. "Congrats on dumping Finn." The blonde started in an almost questioning tone, receiving a bewildered look from her new friend. "Not like, 'congrats on your A or congrats, it's a boy?', but, like…" She stopped, completely stunned by the word vomit that had just left her mouth. "I really don't know what I meant." She stated, squeezing the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Forget about it." Rachel tried to ease the girl's tension with her first laugh and genuine smile of the night. "It's in the past and so is my relationship with Finn." The brunette added as she brought her glass bottle up to chest level to clink with the blonde's plastic one. The taller girl let go of her frustrations as she returned the other girl's gesture.

"And about the whole single thing; don't worry about it. It just means we'll have to have our own little New Years party." Quinn said after taking a sip of her water.

"I can see it now. Sergeants Berry and Fabray's Lonely Hearts Club." Rachel stated with a laugh. "Although, we may need to shorten the title… and credit The Beatles."

"It's Fabray and Berry." Quinn mumbled under her breath.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." Quinn said quickly, thinking of ways to change the subject, before her eyes landed on Rachel's hand. "You realize you're drinking root beer, right?" The blonde asked, trying to hide her amusement.

"I know, but I didn't think you'd notice. You didn't think I'd actually get drunk again, did you?" Rachel paused momentarily. "That was a one time thing and I will not be responsible for letting myself get all over someone again."

"Seeing as we're the only two single ones here, I don't think you have anything to worry about." Quinn returned with a chuckle.

"You never know." Rachel thought she said in her head, before witnessing the slightly shocked, yet confused look on the blonde's face. "I didn't mean it like-"

"Does Rachel Barbra Berry have a crush on me, Quinn Fabray?" The taller girl's eyes lit up as she smiled.

"I didn't say-" Rachel started before Quinn cut her off again.

"Oh, come on. Just admit it." The blonde pried as she put a hand on her hip.

Rachel didn't say a word as people in the room over began chanting. "Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…" She looked down at the floor, contemplating what to say or do. "Six… Five… Four…" Her gaze lifted from the tiled floor of the kitchen to Quinn's hazel eyes, which were still fixed on Rachel. "Three… Two…" The diva took a large step forward, effectively closing the distance between the two girls. "One…" He hand lifted from where it hung against her thigh to the back of the blonde's head. "Happy New Year!" Came the excited cheers from the TV room. Rachel lifted on to her toes slightly as she brought her lips to Quinn's, both meeting in a gentle brush, barely lasting a second.

Rachel was the first to pull back as she looked at the blonde's face; eyes shut, mouth open slightly and cheeks flushed.

"Woah." Quinn managed to get out as her eyes opened.

"Does that answer your question?" Rachel asked, still close enough for the warmth of her breath to reach Quinn and send a tingle down her spine.

"I believe the question asked for complete sentences." Quinn replied, returning to a somewhat coherent state.

"Well in that case…" Rachel started, continuing her sentence in the form of another kiss to the blonde's lips.

Quinn's hands came to rest on the brunette's hips as she returned the kiss fully.

Just as they were both about to deepen the kiss, a noise came from the doorway. They both took a step back after their lips disconnected, before turning their attention to the doorway where a certain Latina stood with her hands on her hips. "Called it." Was all she said as she walked over to the fridge and grabbed a real bottle of beer.

"We weren't-" "It's not what-" The two flushed girls started in unison before Santana silenced them with a lift of her hand.

"Save it." The tanned girl started, cracking the lid off the bottle with the bottle opener that hung on one of the knobs to a cupboard. "I'm not blind and I'm certainly not dumb, so don't even try to fool me - I know what I just saw." She said, taking a swig of her beer. "Just remember what they say about New Year's Eve; what you do on that day is a sign of things to come for the next year or some crap like that." Santana shrugged, walking back over to the doorway. "Whatever, Britt's waiting for me. Too-da-loo, losers." The Latina stated with a lazy wave to the girls behind her.

"So that was, um, interesting." Quinn managed to get out, as she swept her fingers through her hair, not noticing the way Rachel was looking at her.

"That's one way to put it." Rachel replied, not shifting her vision from Quinn's eyes. "Do you want to, I don't know, maybe get out of here?"

"Where would you like to go?" Quinn's eyes met Rachel's as they both licked their lips in unison.

"Anywhere." Rachel all but whispered before they left out the side door of Santana's kitchen to Rachel's car in the driveway.


End file.
